The present invention relates generally to dental implant surgery and more particularly to a new and improved drill guide system for positioning the drill during implant surgery.
Dental implants are regarded as one of the fastest growing specialty in dentistry and the dollar volume of procedure billing has experienced a compounded annual growth rate of 44%. over the last ten years. Dental implants are devices that are designed to be screwed into the human jawbone and serve as a mounting for a prosthetic in the shape and color of the tooth it is replacing. The primary advantage of implants over bridgework and partial dentures is that the installation is of a permanent nature and does not require the care, maintenance, comfort problems or adjustment associated with bridgework and dentures.
The implant device itself is generally cylindrical in nature with a lower portion having a standard or self tapping screw configuration and an upper portion defining a post with a mount for attaching an implant prosthetic. The implant is installed in the course of a surgical procedure wherein a properly positioned hole is drilled into the jawbone at the location of the missing tooth and the implant is screwed into the hole by means of tapped threads or a self tapping implant. After installation the jawbone will grow and tighten its grip on the implant and thereafter a prosthetic that is shaped and colored to conform to the original tooth is attached to the implant post by means of a cooperative mounting between the top of the implant and the prosthetic.
It will be readily appreciated that to achieve proper alignment and appearance, the location and angie of the hole that the dental surgeon drills to receive the implant is very important. In many cases the hole has been drilled on a trial and error basis starting with an undersized drill and correcting the angle and position with the final drill. Such a procedure is very time consuming and still fails to ensure proper final alignment and appearance. There have been several drilling guides on the market but in general they fail to provide a complete and cost effective solution since they fail to fully position the drill for a single drilling operation, some have to be made up for each patient which is not cost effective and they all fail to properly guide the drill during the drilling operation.